Tammy L. Henderson

Older Adults' Responses to Hurricane Katrina Daily Hassles and Coping Strategies

Using the stress and coping model, this article explores how older adults prepared for and coped with the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Interviews with a sample of 122 displaced adults, 60 years of age or older, provided insights regarding the daily hassles they faced that included securing basic resources, facing communication difficulties, and finding transportation. Positive thinking, modified thinking, staying busy, and spirituality were categories that emerged from the qualitative analysis of 119 participants and explained coping by displaced older adults. Our findings reflect what and how older adults coped with a disaster and have implications for disaster preparedness.

Displaced Older Adults' Reactions to and Coping With the Aftermath of Hurricane Katrina

Guided by an ecological perspective, the authors examined event, individual, structural/cultural, and family/community factors that shaped the psychological well-being of older adults displaced from New Orleans by Hurricane Katrina. The authors first established the negative effects of displacement on psychological well-being by comparing displaced older adults with permanent Baton Rouge residents. Displaced older persons’ psychological well-being was positively related to their age and physical health. Older displaced women coped with displacement better than men. Avoidant coping was negatively related to the older adults’ well-being, whereas spiritual coping showed no effect. The functioning of older persons’ family was positively related to their psychological well-being, whereas dependence on people outside immediate family showed a negative relationship. Income, education, and race were largely unrelated to psychological well-being. Findings provide implications for future studies regarding the relationship between disaster and psychological well-being and provide practitioners with suggestions for work with older adults displaced by disasters.

Challenges to Older Women's Sense of Self in the Aftermath of Hurricane Katrina

We examined the personal challenges older women faced as they began to rebuild their sense of self after Hurricane Katrina. In-depth interviews with 74 older women approximately 6 months after the disaster revealed challenges in four domains: maintaining social connections, family connections but loss of independence, reestablishing a sense of place, and managing their own health or the health of a loved one. Follow-up data gathered several months after the initial interviews from 21 of the older women indicated that feelings of displacement persisted as they dealt with health concerns, found a place to live, and managed family roles.

Encounters with Katrina: Dynamics of Older Adults’ Social Support Networks

Hurricane Katrina forced the evacuation of thousands of people from the storm-ravaged Gulf Coast. Storm-displaced older adults faced many challenges during the evacuation process and in the months that followed. In this chapter we examine the dynamics of displaced older adults’ social networks during the evacuation and post-Katrina events. We begin with a brief review of the literature on social support in late life, with emphasis on social support in times of disaster. In the next section, we present findings from a mixed method study conducted in the post-Katrina immediate impact period. Qualitative analyses of interviews with storm-displaced older persons provide new evidence concerning reliance on others for help and emotional support as they faced the aftermath of the storm. We also examined their perceptions of the availability of network members to provide future assistance and support as they rebuild their lives. Implications of these findings for developing effective evacuation strategies and meeting the social and emotional needs of storm-displaced older adults during the recovery period are considered.

Vital Defenses: Social Support Appraisals of Black Grandmothers Parenting Grandchildren

Guided by the conceptual frameworks of social support appraisal mechanisms and cultural variant perspectives, the reported experiences of 23 Black grandmothers parenting grandchildren who receive cash assistance under the current welfare program, Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF), were used to integrate macro- and micro-level perspectives by exploring mechanisms used to appraise social support resources within a historical context. Mechanisms of social support appraisals included personal esteem (i.e., adaptive pride, self-reliance, and personal resources) and social penetration (i.e., family respect and responsibility, reaction to myths or stereotypical views held about poor people, and normative child-centered activities) as economically poor grandmothers demonstrated strong personal integrity and familial responsibility. Grandmothers relied on a wide range of sources for formal and informal support to provide for their grandchildren. Recommendations for future research are discussed to fortify established family defenses.

Experiences in the Face of Disasters Children, Teachers, Older Adults, and Families

The current collection contributes to our understanding of the stress experienced by and resilience of individuals and families in the aftermath of a disaster. We begin the collection with an article on two theories, vulnerability and social capital theory. These theories serve as tools to capture physical, social, and economic vulnerabilities as well as to determine how the dynamics of social networks interact when experiencing a disaster. The remaining authors of the current collection examined the experiences, stresses, and resilience of lower-income mothers, special education teachers, older adults, and families. Authors offer recommendations for disaster planning or future research.

Parental Rights and the Foster Care System: A Glimpse of Decision Making in Virginia

Using ecological theory and a mixed-methods approach, the authors examined family–court interactions for foster care decisions made in Virginia across three policy periods: 1980 to 1993, 1994 to 1997, and 1997 to present (N = 95). For the first and last policy periods, quantitative analyses revealed significant differences in the rates at which parental rights were terminated. Differences also existed in termination rates for parents with mental health issues and limited IQs but not for parents with substance abuse issues or those with special-needs children. The best-interests-of-the-child standard and clear and convincing evidence were the primary legal principles used to determine whether to terminate parental rights or to reunify families. Suggestions were made to enhance the understanding of family professionals.

Grandparent Visitation Rights Justices’ Interpretation of the Best Interests of the Child Standard

The purpose of the study was to review grandparent visitation cases to determine how justices interpreted the best interests of the child standard. Using grounded theory methods, the author conducted a study on 46 grandparent visitation cases. Based on the critical review of these cases, three themes emerged: parental rights, children’s rights, and child development. These themes help to explain how courts influence the social construction of power within families. The author closes the study with implications and suggestions for future research.

Grandparent Visitation Rights Successful Acquisition of Court-Ordered Visitation

The author examined 65 cases in which grandparents successfully acquired court-ordered visitation with their grandchildren to understand how courts shape family development and how social scientists might support families who are engaged in legal disputes. Using grounded theory methods, two categories explained grandparents’ success at acquiring court-ordered visitation with their grandchildren: (a) serving the best interests of the child and (b) reflecting a slight shift in family law traditions. The second category, a shift in family law traditions, was made clear by these themes: (a) derivatives of rights, (b) intruding on the parental rights of adoptive parents,(c) balancing the rights of parents, children, and grandparents. Conclusions and suggestions for the role of social science professionals are offered that address the complexities of family law, grandparent visitation rights, and contemporary family issues

Alaska Native Grandparents Rearing Grandchildren A Rural Community Story

We used community-based participatory research with four tiers of governance and grounded theory methods to examine the lives of Alaska Native grandparents rearing grandchildren in a rural community. We explored the reasons Native grandparents reared or are rearing their grandchildren, challenges rearing grandchildren, and the joys of grandparenthood. We used their words to broaden the grandparenting research by focusing solely on Native People living in a rural, arctic climate. Culture, values, and traditions explain the unique reasons grandparents cared for their grandchildren; values and common concerns of all grandparents describe the challenges of grandparenthood; pride and joy, the value of love, and traditional ways of living made clear the joys of Alaska Native grandparents rearing their grandchildren. After the discussion, we offer considerations for future research.